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When I lived in Germany, I learned that one interesting, cultural aspect is that they don’t drink nearly as much tapwater as in America. This means everyone bu
by mensetmanusman 3y ago
When I lived in Germany, I learned that one interesting, cultural aspect is that they don’t drink nearly as much tapwater as in America.
This means everyone buys water in plastic containers at the grocery store, all this plastic is PET-based, and PEG is always present in small quantities in that water (because water is slightly acidic, and acids disassociate the PET molecule).
- kragen 3y agohow the fuck do you get peg from ethylene terephthalate
- yorwba 3y agoThe majority of Germans drinks tap water daily or almost daily: https://www.bwb.de/de/assets/downloads/twis-report.pdf https://www.bwb.de/de/assets/downloads/twis-report.pdf I think "everyone buys water in plastic containers" is a bit of an overestimate.
- danielbln 3y agoAs a German I find that to be a pretty wild generalization, especially comparing it to the US where tap water quality varies massively (Oregon vs say Michigan (Flint...)). German tap water tends to be quite good. I live in Berlin, where tap water is excellent (albeit with a lot of minerals/calcium). The vast majority of people I know drink tap water, sometimes filtered, sometimes with CO2 added, but tap water nontheless.
- Aurornis 3y ago> As a German I find that to be a pretty wild generalization Most generalizations that come from someone taking a short trip to another country are like this: Someone visits a foreign country, interacts with a couple dozen people in a small area, then projects that experience on to the entire country. I think almost everyone does it when they’re young and they first start traveling. It’s not until you’ve gained more exposure to the size and diversity of the world that you realize you can’t draw conclusions about entire countries from a couple of experienced.
- kbelder 3y agoIt should be labeled the 'Star Trek Away Team' effect.
- mensetmanusman 3y agoStats show German’s drink a lot of mineral water though…
- sva_ 3y agoIt's funny how impressions can differ, because my impression as a German visiting the US a couple times was that people there have an aversion towards drinking tap water. That being said, the takeaway from this study shouldn't be that this is peculiar for the German population, it just happens that the Max Planck Institute for Polymers is located in Germany.
- zeku 3y agoIt really depends on the location. Every city has a different perception of their tap water in the USA. Where I'm from we drink tap water with no filter etc.
- benibela 3y agoAnd Germans tapwater tastes much better than US tapwater, there is no chlorine I drink a lot of tapwater (though usually as tea) I used to drink bottled water, because it is sparkly. I like sparkling water much more than ordinary water. But I got tired of carrying so many bottles I bought a CO2 device that should make tapwater sparkling. But lacked fuzz and my mother donated it away. She donates all my stuff >This means everyone buys water in plastic containers at the grocery store, all this plastic is PET-based, and PEG is always present in small quantities in that water (because water is slightly acidic, and acids disassociate the PET molecule). My mother only buys glass bottles because of that.